


we must keep daring

by wearethewitches



Series: two sides to every coin [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alien Biology, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Cat Grant finds out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, F/F, Family, Kara Danvers Arrived On Earth On Time, Kara Danvers Has PTSD, One Night Stands, Supercat Week, Time Skips, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-07 13:33:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20818097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wearethewitches/pseuds/wearethewitches
Summary: Cat and Kara meet in a club, have a fancy night, talk about aliens and pine for a couple of years.or, an arrived on time!au, where Carter is Cat and Kara's son.[ hello and goodbye / give or take ; supercat day 1-4 ]





	1. HELLO

_ Earth, July of 1991 _

The night is loud, Kara is high on sugar and everything is going great, considering the whole crowded-nightclub-and-abandoned-date thing. Fred was mean, anyway. Rolling her lollipop in her mouth, Kara bounces up and down to the music, determined to have _fun_. She can have fun, she’s not a weirdo – who _doesn’t_ enjoy discussing ancient Earth cultures?

_Fred didn’t,_ her mind whispers, like a traitor. Kara huffs to herself, dancing coming to an end. Making her way to the bar – wanting another one of those fruity cocktails with the umbrellas – Kara ruminates on the possibility of every human male being an ass.

“You look like you’re about to maul someone.”

Kara blinks, glancing to her left. Sitting at the bar with a martini, too well-dressed for the loud nightclub they’re situated in, is a small woman with straight blonde hair. She looks utterly bored, except for the glint of amusement in her eyes as Kara hesitantly points to herself.

“Yes, you,” the woman confirms. “Now, you’re just a vision. Beguiling. How unfair. Did it hurt?”

“Did what hurt?” Kara questions, eyebrows knitting together as she takes the lollipop from her mouth. It’s nearly gone.

“Falling from heaven.”

There’s a moment of silence between the two women, Kara staring for a scant second before breaking out into a wide grin. The other woman cringes.

“I was dared to use that line.”

“It worked,” Kara beams, sitting down and ordering her drink, knees jostling up against the bar. She’s careful not to push too hard, but a tiny dent appears anyway – she’s had too much sugar to really take care. “I’m Kara, Kara Lee.”

“Cat.”

“Nice to meet you, Cat,” greets Kara, crunching down on her lollipop to get rid of it, using the stick to swirl her drink when it arrives. Kara knows that the bar ran out of straws an hour ago – she was the first to ask why, when she got her last drink and it didn’t come with one automatically. “What are you doing tonight?”

Cat raises an eyebrow. “Forwards,” she murmurs and had Kara not had superhearing, she might not have heard. As it is, Kara flushes.

“Not like that – I mean, we could, if you wanted to, because that would be cool and you’re pretty, uh – but I was asking what you were doing. Here. Are you with friends?”

Cat sips her drink, lip quirking. “You’re a ray of sunshine, aren’t you, Kara? As it happens, I’m here with a friend. Her name is Lois and she’s already decided to go home with some poor cad in a letterman’s jacket.”

“NCU?” Kara questions, perking up. “I might know them! I have friends all over the university!”

“Player number four, blue and yellow jacket,” Cat drawls. “Dark hair, strong jaw…”

“Ooh, that’s Deacon – he’s really nice. I was his maths tutor last year, before I switched major.”

“What are you studying now?”

“Archaeology, with an interest in South American history. I’m twenty-four. I used to be a science major,” Kara chirps. She gestures to Cat, wanting to know more about her. “What about you? Are you in college?”

“A graduate, I’m afraid,” Cat leans slightly, coming closer to her. Kara leans in on instinct, wondering if Cat would actually want to sleep with her. She wants new experiences – new _encounters._ “Journalism and Business. Twenty-seven. I’m visiting National City from Metropolis with Lois. We’re working together on an article for Perry White, of the _Daily Planet._”

“What about?” Kara asks, genuinely interested.

“Let’s just say it’s not a fluff piece,” Cat says vaguely, smirking. Kara pouts.

“Can’t you say a bit more than that? Not even a little?”

“Well,” the other woman moves her hand to Kara’s leg, almost idly, dragging her nail across the bare flesh of her knee. Adrenaline surges through her, heart racing as Cat leans further in, whispering in her ear. It’s like a shout. “I’d need a little convincing. Do you think you could do that, _Kara?_”

“Yeah…if you want,” Kara swallows, looking Cat in the eye as she draws back by the smallest amount. “I have an apartment. And a bike. We could go, if you liked.”

“A bike.” Her voice is flat, before she speaks again, tense. She points a finger at Kara. “If you crash and kill us both, I’ll murder you again, from the grave.”

“Scouts honour,” Kara jokes, eager now. Standing, she offers Cat a hand, drawing her close as they make their way out of the nightclub, drinks abandoned on the bar. When they get outside, Kara gives Cat her single helmet, selfishly glad for a moment that she’d chosen to take her motorcycle when the other woman tugs at her skirt.

“I’ll be in front,” she says, “No-one will see.”

Cat sends her a faux-glare, muttering darkly. “They’d better not.”

When they climb on, Cat’s arms wrap around her bare midriff, latching onto her belt. Jean shorts and tied-up t-shirts aren’t Kara’s usual style, much preferring baggy jeans and jumpers, but it’s hot this summer and all her friends are dressed like this. Her graphic tee is actually borrowed from her friend Ryan, Kara realises when she takes a moment to think about it. _He’ll want it back,_ she makes a mental note.

Cat’s heartbeat races as they drive through the city, steadying just as Kara slows outside her apartment block. Her studio is based on the top floor, perfect for letting light in for her painting – it’s one of many hobbies she keeps.

“Here,” she tells Cat, waiting until she’s dismounted to join her. It’s then, while Cat is on the sidewalk and Kara on the road, that Kara realises just how tiny she is. A smile grows.

Cat is looking at her building, nose twitching. “It’s…adequate.”

“It’s brand new,” Kara enthuses, quickly cleaning up the bike and putting her helmet away. When that’s done, she takes Cat’s hand and leads her in. “There’s an elevator that I’ve never used before. I bet you don’t want to hike up fourteen floors, though.”

“Not in these heels,” she jests and it’s so _strange,_ leading a woman to her apartment exclusively for sex.

Kara pauses.

“We are…you’re here to sleep with me, right?” She clarifies, blushing when Cat rolls her eyes and sighs.

“Yes, Kara. We’re going to sleep together. Now – the fourteenth floor, you said? I despise public elevators, but it seems to be a necessary sacrifice, here. Wash your hands when we get up to your place,” she orders, eyes flashing. “I have a perfectly rational fear of bacteria.”

“That’s fine,” Kara says softly, clicking the button to call it. They wait for the numbers to lower from seven to zero. The doors open, all grey and metal. She pauses outside of it. “I don’t like small spaces.”

Cat hesitates where she’s standing inside, looking slightly guilty. “I can walk up some stairs, if it’s really that much of a problem.”

“No- no, it’s okay,” Kara says, voice still quiet as she enters. The walls press around her immediately, the feeling only worsening when the doors close. In the back of her mind, she can see the blackness of space and a fiery explosion of red and green. Stiff, Kara resolutely stares at the counter as it goes up and up, practically leaping out of the elevator when the doors finally open on floor fourteen.

A hand rests on her elbow. “Are you alright?” Cat asks, meeting her eyes. She’s seriously concerned about Kara’s wellbeing, the Kryptonian realises.

“…just give me a moment,” Kara replies, nodding her head over to Apartment C. “That’s me.”

“Open it up, then.”

Cat and Kara convene in the kitchen, having a cup of water each. Cat takes hers delicately, green painted nails clicking against the glass.

“I don’t often do this – one-night stands,” Cat says, sounding like she’s explaining something. “I don’t sleep with the same person twice.”

“That’s a shame,” Kara says. “I’ll have to make it worth it.”

Cat’s eyes gleam with anticipation. “I suppose you’ll have to. Do you have female contraceptives?”

“I have dental dams, if that’s what you’re asking – and I’m not diseased.”

“Neither am I.” Cat sets her glass down, standing to take off her jacket, flinging it back over Kara’s sofa. “I’m glad we had that conversation. To business?”

“Sure- sure!” Kara exclaims brightly, wondering if she’s being too excitable, too _weird._ She hesitates, noting Cat’s raised eyebrow. She hurriedly asks, “Can you tell me if I’m being strange? My date tonight abandoned me because I was too enthusiastic.”

“Enthusiastic is good, just don’t get chatty during sex. Show me to your bedroom.”

It’s an order – one Kara willingly follows, going as far as to sweep Cat up into her arms. Cat grasps Kara’s shoulders, yelping briefly.

And then it happens.

Kara’s shirt goes first, revealing her black bra. Then it’s her boots, untying her laces blind as Cat removes her own heels and pencil skirt, slowly unbuttoning her blouse.

“You’re so _small_,” Kara says in a hush, gazing at her in the dim orange light of her lamp. “You look like you’re going to snap in half.”

“And you look like a body-builder,” Cat grumbles, unable to give her a disparaging comment. Kara grins, popping the last of Cat’s blouse buttons, leaning down to graze her lips and teeth over her hip. Cat takes off her shirt, left in underwear that Kara discards with a little too much force.

“Hey!” Cat snaps, Kara wincing at the noise of torn fabric. “That was part of a set!”

“Sorry,” Kara apologises.

Cat huffs, then resettles herself on the bed, looking like a queen on her throne where she lies back on Kara’s mountains of cushions and pillows. She raises an eyebrow.

“Well?”

_Well,_ Kara thinks, taking off her shorts and bra, more for comfort than anything else. She’s already on sensory overload, the headiness of her sugar-rush a distraction from the shouts and sirens outside and the bright neon lights of lampposts. Taking off her clothes also provides her with something new: Cat’s hungry gaze, cataloguing every curve of her body. It’s unbearably hot and Kara feels aroused.

“Your majesty,” she can’t help but say, crawling over to settle between her legs, pausing only to collect a dental dam from her drawer and apply it properly. Soon, Cat’s knee is hooked over her shoulder, Kara going straight for the kill, tongue flicking this way and that, curling here and circling there.

“Kar- _Kara!_” Cat moans, eyes squeezed shut. Her hands grasp at the sheets fruitlessly. “_Kara!_”

Cat comes with a gush. Feeling bold, Kara swipes at the mess with her thumb, eyes locking with Cat’s as she licks it off. The smaller woman heaves with exertion, a sheen of sweat covering her bare body.

“I hope you don’t expect me to match that,” says Cat, breathing loudly. Kara smirks smugly, listening to Cat mutter to herself with a roll of her eyes, “Shouldn’t have said that.”

“But you still did,” Kara prods, pushing up from the bed on either side of Cat’s thighs so they’re level. Cat reaches for her face, fingers tangling in her honey-blonde hair as their lips collide. It’s hot and filthy beyond measure, Kara moving to press up against her, reaching down with one hand to stimulate that same cluster of nerves. Cat shudders, grasping her tight.

This time, it’s short and Cat whacks her lightly on the arm.

“I was supposed to go next,” she grumbles, attempting to turn them around. Rolling over, Kara allows it, pulling Cat onto her midriff. The dental dam is disposed of and another fetched, before Kara wriggles out of her underwear finally.

“Beautiful,” Cat mutters as she looks over Kara’s bare body. Her hand dips down and it is Kara’s turn to pant, squirming and giggling at the sensations it brings. She sees Cat struggling to hide a smile at her laughter, but as the pressure mounts, Kara jolts her hips – once, twice, three times. Cat takes her hand, pressing it to her hip. “Hold onto me,” she orders.

Kara holds on, keeping her elbows stiff as she can so she doesn’t push and crack and break the woman on top of her. When she finally comes, she has to reach up to grasp her own head, the pressure making her dizzy even as she goes slack in release.

“That seemed intense,” Cat says lightly. Kara huffs, shaking off the dizziness that comes from squishing ones own head.

“Well, _yeah_. What did it look like?”

“Intense.”

“Yeah.”

Cat disposes of the second dental dam, then asks, “Can I use your shower?”

“Sure. Towels were washed yesterday. I’ll clean up here, after I stop feeling like I’ve been electrocuted,” Kara says, somewhat sassily. A grin like the cat that had caught the canary floats across Cat’s face, before she disappears into the bathroom.

Lying on her bed, Kara brushes a stray strand of hair off her face before speeding to her feet, stripping the bed and redoing it at an equally-fast pace. Feeling her stomach grumble, Kara goes on to make herself a triple-decker sandwich, listening to Cat in the bathroom out of boredom, more than anything else.

_What now?_ Kara thinks. _Will she leave? Do I need to give her a ride? Will she stay the night?_

All her questions are answered when Cat finishes in the shower, pausing at finding a naked Kara in the kitchen, hair drying in a twisted towel.

“…if you don’t wear pyjamas, I’ll be leaving. Single one-night stand rule,” she says, reminding Kara of what she said earlier in the evening. Swallowing her bite, Kara hurriedly shakes her head.

“No, no, I wear pyjamas. I was just waiting for you to finish, before I hop in, too. Did you and your friend rent a hotel in the area?”

“It’s too far to walk and I don’t want to imagine what Lois is doing with her boy-toy there, right now,” Cat brushes off her question, meandering over to her bookshelf. “If you’d like me to leave-”

“No! No – stay the night, please. I’ll even make breakfast tomorrow,” offers Kara. Cat seemingly considers it for a moment, then nods her head.

“That is acceptable,” she says primly, finger tapping a title Kara recognises as _The Colour of Magic_, by Terry Pratchett. Cat glances her way. “I’ll go sleep. What side do you sleep on?”

“It’s my bed,” Kara immediately replies, like it’s an answer. After a moment, she says, “Left. You can borrow a pyjamas shirt from the bottom drawer, so you don’t wreck your clothes.”

Cat nods, then heads to bed. Kara listens to her dress and slip under the fresh covers, finishing her sandwich absentmindedly before going for a long, ten minute shower. It’s refreshing and almost distracts her from the odd itching in her gut. _Must be something I ate,_ she thinks, pouting at the idea of finally finding something she can’t have.

Cat is lying in her bed when she enters, changing at human speed before joining her, a space a foot wide separating them. Kara is only slightly nervous at the idea of sharing a bed with someone – she’s done it in the past and nothing’s happened. The one time she was caught floating in her sleep, her foster-parent thought they were dreaming and only brought it up the next week as a funny story.

_Here’s to hope I don’t float out of my covers! _Kara thinks contentedly to herself, settling down to sleep.

Tomorrow, she decided, she would make pancakes – with bacon and maple syrup, strawberries and blueberries…


	2. GOODBYE

_ Earth, July of 1991 – the next morning _

Cat is sweltering.

It doesn’t matter that her bedpartner has stolen the covers. Cat honestly could care less. What she does care about is how there’s no breeze through the apartment, no air-conditioning or even a single open window.

She is baking alive.

Opening her eyes, Cat winces at first at the sun streaming through the studio windows, before adjusting and getting up. Determined to open a window, Cat steps forwards, belatedly realising that there are a stack of what look like canvases in her way. Curious, she takes a moment to look at the edges, raising her eyebrows at the vivid imagery. One of the few she can see in full is a realistic watercolour of a city on an alien planet.

Cat glances back at the archaeology student moonlighting as an artist and almost screams.

There, floating about four feet above the mattress, half the blanket falling off of her, is Kara. Floating. In mid-air.

“I’m dreaming,” Cat says aloud, shutting her eyes. When she opens them, surely Kara will be on her bed. Cat opens her eyes. It is not to be. Kara is really and truly _flying._

As if sensing Cat’s rising panic, Kara snuffles, rubbing at her face and cracking her neck. Her legs float a little further up into the air, leaving Kara almost diagonal.

“_Urgh_,” she grunts though, floating across the room to the doorway, landing on her feet and blindly chucking her blanket back at her bed. Kara hasn’t noticed Cat, as of yet. It reminds Cat of Lois before she’s had her morning coffee. Trailing after her – and what is she? How can she fly? Is she a lost military experiment? – Cat watches from a distance as Kara suddenly whizzes forwards, barely more than a blur. The coffee machine is filled, the fridge and a cupboard open and close, eggs are cracked and whisked in a bowl on the counter and Kara’s hair is suddenly brushed out, pulled up into a ponytail as she pauses in front of an open cutlery drawer.

“Hmm…” Kara wiggles her fingers, then picks out a fork with a bright red plastic handle. She turns around and then, she sees Cat, her eyes widening in shock. “Uh,” she says intelligently.

“You were floating,” says Cat in a frank tone, the two women staring at each other. This is more than either of them expected from a one-night stand. “And running.”

“…you’re still asleep!” Kara blurts out, hurrying forwards at normal speed, hands coming to rest on Cat’s shoulders. “Do you have a history of sleep-walking? Because you’re not making sense – humans can’t float or- or run at super-speed. You should go back to bed. I hear waking up while standing is terrible.”

“Terrible,” Cat repeats, feeling Kara pushing her back. Cat wants to stand still, but realises she can’t fight it. She pushes back visibly. “Do you have super-strength, too?”

Kara steps back, like she’s been scalded. There’s something awful in her eyes. Cat recognises it for what it is – _fear_.

“I won’t tell,” she murmurs, reaching up to tug at Kara’s pyjama shirt. “I don’t know how you can even think about having coffee, though. There must be a heatwave going on in National City, surely.”

“I-” Kara starts, voice cracking even as Cat puts a finger to her lips. Their eyes lock in place.

“I won’t tell,” Cat repeats, “so long as you explain. How are you like this?”

Kara swallows audibly, whispering, “I don’t know. I have no idea why – I wasn’t like this before.”

“What happened, before ‘before’?”

Kara is mute. Her lips seal shut and her arms go lax at her sides. She stares at Cat blankly, even when Cat frowns and stares her down. Their staring match is only broken by the coffee machine cycle ending, a beep distracting them both. Quiet, they go over to Kara’s kitchenette, Kara making scrambled eggs for them both.

“Thank-you,” Cat says politely, upon being given a plate. Kara hesitates for a long few seconds before slowly giving a tremulous smile.

“I promised you breakfast.”

“You did.”

“I probably should have asked if you ate eggs or not,” Kara mutters as she sits down beside Cat with an extra four slices of toast, all buttered and covered in a thick layer of jam. “You do eat eggs, right?”

“If I didn’t,” Cat proclaims, “I would have told you immediately. As it is, I’m more interested in your increased metabolism.”

Kara, red fork full of eggs halfway to her mouth, freezes in place. “Increased metabolism?” she squeaks.

“You’re eating six pieces of bread, Kara. Yes, _increased metabolism_. Now that I know there’s something strange about you, it’s easier to spot.”

Cat is only fabricating about half of the truth, there. It’s true that she’s guessing about the increased metabolism, but she has doubts over her ability to spot anything else ‘strange’ about Kara, not when she has no idea what to look for. Luckily, Kara doesn’t seem to pick up on this, instead staring at her breakfast and munching on it methodically.

She looks small.

“…Do I have to say it again?” Cat asks her. “I won’t tell anyone. It’s your business, no-one else’s. I’m just…curious.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

“Satisfaction brought it back – and I dearly hope that wasn’t a deliberate feline pun, for I do _not_ want to storm out of here in exasperation without figuring out your secret.”

Kara looks up at that, a glint in her eye. “It wasn’t, but I’d love to see your reaction if it was.” Her shoulders rise, elbow resting on the table as she finishes her third slice of jammy toast. Licking her fingers, Kara tells her, “I came to this planet when I was thirteen. My planet died and my parents sent me off in a pod, trying to save the life of me and my cousin. I’m an alien.”

“Ridiculous,” Cat says, but rather than scoffing, she’s staring. _I’m staring at an extraterrestrial._

“I’m Kryptonian,” Kara explains, unfazed. “From the planet Krypton.”

“How many people know?”

“That depends,” the other woman says wryly, though she winces. “I told plenty of people, in the beginning. I had no-one and I was afraid. No-one believed me when I said my planet was gone – that I saw it explode before the repulsors kicked in. Kal-El was right behind me…”

“Kal-El,” Cat hazards, “is your cousin. Where is he?”

Kara’s face twists into an expression of pain, guilt and loss. “I don’t know,” she says, sounding raw and hurt. “Either his pod hasn’t made it here, yet or it’s landed and I haven’t noticed. Our pods were part of the same fleet – it’s supposed to notify me when he gets within range. I visit it every week and it’s always the same…nothing. He isn’t here and if he is, then I’ve failed. I promised to look after him…”

Kara jerks slightly, cringing. “Sorry. I just- I haven’t had anyone to talk to about this, ever. Sorry for dumping all of that on you.”

“It’s fine,” Cat replies levelly. “It’s not something you can exactly talk to a shrink about.”

“No, it’s not.”

“It really is.”

Kara huffs, eating her eggs. A calm falls between them and Cat can’t help but stare some more. It’s never been her style to _steal glances_ or _ignore_ the unusual. Her mother always used to tell her off for it – always told her to _mind her own business_.

Actually, a lot of people have told her that. Cat has a tendency to do the reverse and poke her nose even further in. It’s gotten her into trouble in the past.

“My father died when I was sixteen – cancer.” Eventually, she speaks, feeling like it’s unbalanced. She has to give this woman something to hang onto in return. “His name was Carter. Carter Grant. My mother hates speaking about him. I keep my recollections of him tucked away inside, my own private memorial.”

Kara whispers, “My parents died on Krypton.”

A silence – more awkward this time, more _unfair_ because Cat was trying to make things equal, trying to make sure Kara wasn’t giving her everything in exchange for nothing. She struggles to find a new avenue for conversation that isn’t…_bleh_.

She fails.

And then the silence gets too unbearable to handle and she thinks, _fuck it_, before clearing her throat and musing loudly.

“Krypton. That’s an element, here.”

“I know,” Kara murmurs. Her eyes dance between Cat and her plate. “Your sciences aren’t that advanced, compared to the rest of the universe.”

“Should I be offended?” Cat asks, though something does ruffle her about that. “You have – what was it? _Pods?_ You have _pods_ that can survive space. How did your planet die?”

“We used so many of its resources that the core destabilised,” Kara parrots. “I’m old enough now to wonder whether it was a Science-Military exercise that went wrong, but I trust my parents. I overheard my uncle complaining that the Imperial Council wouldn’t listen, once.”

“An interesting story,” Cat says impartially, recognising it well enough – it’s about the same way most governments are reacting to the tale of climate change. She finishes her eggs promptly, eating the last of her toast and brushing her hands over the plate. Standing, Cat makes to wash her dishes, mind turning back to last night.

_One-night stand, indeed. She’s an **alien**._

“There won’t be any issues over this, will there?” Cat asks her, turning back to Kara where she still sits, eating. At her question, a guileless confusion spreads across her face. Cat elaborates. “You’re not human. I am. Will there be any consequences from last night that you couldn’t tell me, because of your secret?”

Kara’s eyes widen fractionally and her jaw works furiously for a moment, before she swallows, answering her, “Not that I know of. The protection we used last night should have been enough, unless you’re more experimental than I thought.” At the last bit, Kara belatedly turns pink and Cat raises her eyebrow sharply.

“I assure you, unless there are other aliens masquerading as humans, you’re the first I’ve slept with,” she replies frankly.

“Right.”

“_Right,_” Cat tilts her head, looking at Kara shrewdly. In her head, she considers befriending this woman, who is so far from home and in dire need of a friend who knows that; but then she chastises herself. She’s only in National City for this one article and phone-lines can be tapped – the only way they could communicate safely is in person, unless Cat suddenly wants her friend taken away to wherever they investigate aliens, nowadays.

_Area 51,_ she jokes darkly.

Turning back to the sink, she dries off her plate and cutlery, wiping down her place at the island table for good measure. Kara leaves a hundred thousand crumbs that Cat itches to clean up. This is why she doesn’t visit her friends’ homes – there’s always _something_, whether it’s a single crumb or a stray animal hair.

“I should go,” she says, reluctant. “Lois will be wondering where I am.”

“I can give you a ride,” Kara offers, but Cat declines.

“I’ll call a cab,” she shakes her head, adding, “and I don’t want to be driven around on your motorbike in my skirt again. I am never doing that ever again.”

Kara chuckles. “Okay, I get that. I have a landline over by the door you can use – the phonebook is on top of the fridge.”

Cat glances over to said fridge, taking in it’s tall height and the book casually opened across its top. Wryly, she asks, “Do you usually fly when you’re on call?”

Kara blinks. “What?” She looks to the fridge, staring for a moment before batting herself on the forehead, muttering to herself in another language. Cat doesn’t recognise it, the fluidity startling her – there aren’t any buzzes or short stops, only a pause where Cat thinks a sentence must stop so another can begin. She watches as Kara rushes over, floating up at a slower speed to grab the phonebook, holding it out to Cat sheepishly.

“Better,” Cat states, making her way over. Next to Kara, she feels so limited. What would humans be like if they could fly or run at superspeed? Kara said it only happened when she arrived here. Could that happen to every alien visitor? Taking the phone-book, she looks up a cab company, Kara leaning against the door with her arms folded across her chest, arms straining against the fabric.

It would look hot, if she weren’t wearing a pink pyjama shirt that says _super cute_ in sparkly letters.

“You need a wardrobe upgrade,” Cat mutters as she dials the cab company, waiting for the rings to go through. They stare at each other, up until someone finally answers and Cat looks away, focusing on the pale grain of the wooden slats covering the wall.

When her phone-call finishes – Kara providing her address for the cab that’s on its way – Cat hangs up and straightens her back. The woman – _alien woman_, Cat corrects herself – is indistinguishable from any other gorgeous woman, looking particularly fetching in the sunlight. Cat understands exactly why she chose her last night, wanting to kiss her again and see her grasp at her own hair, expression one of ecstasy.

“So…what are you going to do, today?” Kara asks her, after a short while of silence. Cat hums, shaking away the memories of the night before.

“Going through archives. We need several facts confirmed about certain goings-on in and around National City.”

“Cool,” Kara says, sounding thoughtful. She sounds wistful as she speaks, “Journalism sounds so…selfless, sometimes.”

“Selfless?” Cat questions, caught off-guard. She stares at Kara. “Why would you say that?”

“Well, I mean there’s certainly some people that are just in it for the money or the gossip,” Kara starts, “but then there’s those people who investigate crime and put their own lives at risk, or those that promote causes they believe in. You’re in a position to inform the world at large of current events and issues. It’s just so…strange, to me.”

“Did you not have freedom of the press, on your planet?” Cat asks her.

Kara laughs. “We didn’t have _press._ The guilds gave statements about their projects and that was about it, unless the Council were giving an announcement – those were mandatory to watch. If you wanted to be informed, you had to be social or have connections, if you wanted to know about the less public operations. Information didn’t…_circulate_, like it does here. You were either given it or you weren’t.”

Certain connections _ping_ in Cat’s mind. “Like that your planet was dying,” she figures. From Kara’s suddenly morose expression, Cat realises she’s correct.

“Yes. Like Krypton’s imminent destruction.”

There’s a moment of silence – _so many moments of quiet, this morning_ – before Cat offers her hand on Kara’s elbow.

“I’m sorry,” she says, seeing how Kara’s eyes glisten. Her head ducks, golden hair falling across her face. Cat reaches up, tucking it behind her ear. “We probably won’t see each other again, but-” she pauses, trying to figure out what to say. What _do_ you say to someone who’s lost so much?

Kara’s hand takes her own, squeezing lightly. Their eyes meet again. “It’s alright,” she says, “you don’t have to say anything. No-one has ever said that to me, not how you mean it. Thank-you. Thank-you for your understanding.”

Heart swooping in her chest, Cat has the instant urge to back-peddle, to _get out_ of this emotional soiree. But she’s solid, held there by Kara’s gentle grasp. Her pulse races, pounding in her ears.

“It’s no problem,” she says, barely able to hear her own voice. Above them, a clock ticks and Cat wrenches her head up, looking at the time. “My cab is imminent.”

Kara’s grasp falls away. Cat doesn’t look. “You’d better go, then,” she says, voice injected with false cheer. “Don’t want to be late.”

Cat forces herself to look back at her. She speaks genuinely, saying “It was good to meet you, Kara.”

Her blue eyes brighten and her smile is like the sun. “You too, Cat. Have a nice trip in National City.”

“Goodbye, Kara.”

“Goodbye, Cat.”

And then she leaves, gathering her belongings and exiting the apartment. She stands in front of the elevator and remembers Kara’s reaction to it the night before, wondering what made her so terrified of small spaces. She remembers.

_I have too much heart,_ Cat thinks to herself, shaking her head.

Then, decision made – she turns towards the stairs.


	3. GIVE

_ Earth, December of 1991 – five months later _

“Are you sure you’re okay, Kara?”

Ryan reaches over, rubbing her back soothingly as she finishes hurling. Her gut rumbles, insides churning to the beat of _out, out, out_ – but thankfully, it fades as quickly as it came. Kara wipes at her mouth with the tissue her partner offers, straightening.

“If you’re feeling awful, I’m sure the professor won’t mind you skipping out when we get to the dig,” he continues, dark eyes full of worry. “Do you need a drink? Here-” he offers her his water bottle, which Kara takes gratefully.

“Thanks, Ryan,” Kara says, patting his arm. The heat of the South American jungle has made itself known among their group of explorers, a thin layer of sweat covering everyone, bar Kara herself and their guide. “I think I’ll be fine, now. I’m good.”

“You’ve been like this a while,” he hedges as they rejoin the trek, having fallen behind. The group had stopped after a minute, lingering while Kara spewed her guts out, but they move onwards when Kara gives a thumbs up to Professor Martin. “Are you sure you’re not ill?”

“I’m good,” Kara reiterates, feeling the first tingle of annoyance. They’ve been in close quarters for over two weeks now, hiking between ancient historical sites that are currently being dug out and Ryan’s constant badgering – not to mention the rest of their class – is getting on her nerves. “I got checked out by a doctor. I’m not ill.”

Ryan actually stops, then. Kara glances back at him, frowning over his stunned face.

“You’re…not ill?” he says slowly, eyes dipping up and down. “So…you’re…Kara. Are you pregnant?”

Kara is stunned.

“What?”

“Are you pregnant?” Ryan asks once more, clearing his throat. “Cause, I mean, you said you aren’t ill, but you’re clearly not well. So – are you pregnant?”

“Asking the same question three times doesn’t…” Kara swallows, sentence going nowhere. She turns back around abruptly, hiking up towards the group. Her mind whirls.

It was well-known on Krypton that natural reproduction was illegal. Artificial wombs were highly regulated to control population density and the Growth Codex – holding all possible genetic sequences for Kryptonians – rarely, if ever, failed to provide. Kara’s mother and aunt, Alura and Astra In-Ze, were one of those few ‘failures’, as the concept of _twins_ was inconceivable to the Imperial Council. Kara herself was the only child allowed from the House of Ze, in penance for Alura and Astra’s perceived mistake.

_Pregnant,_ she thinks, shocked at the very notion. It’s impossible. Ludicrous – how could it even happen? Kara has only slept with one person in recent months and that was Cat Grant, who according to Human sciences, isn’t able to provide the appropriate materials to create a child.

In the privacy of her mind, Kara’s advanced knowledge of genetics teases her. _DNA can come from anywhere._ It wouldn’t be unheard of…and Kara knows exactly how her reproductive track works. All it needs is foreign DNA derived from sexual fluid and the right adrenal hormones to kick-start the process.

_Oh Rao, _she thinks,_ I’m pregnant._

Ryan is quiet for the rest of the trek, though Kara is nicer to him. They met on the first day of their course, sitting together in Professor Martin’s lecture hall and walking to classes together, going home to Kara’s flat afterwards for a movie and popcorn. They were fast friends – Kara regrets snapping at him, now.

When they get to the dig-site, Kara sidles up to him and nudges his elbow, quiet. He glances her way, raising an eyebrow.

“Huh?”

“…yeah, I am,” she murmurs, finally answering his question. Anticipation blasts through her system, making her nervous – jumpy. “I don’t know what to do. I have no idea how to look after a child.”

“Well,” Ryan hesitates, “you don’t have to. There’s always, uh…you can always give it up.”

“No,” Kara immediately replies, arms folding over her chest. Her eyes stray downwards to her flat belly, feet kicking at the dusty ground. “I can’t give it up. That’s not an option – not for me.”

_It’s Kryptonian. A last piece, for me and my world. A gift._ It might be half-human, but Kara doesn’t mind that. In the last eight years she has spent here, Earth has become a second home to her.

“Okay, then,” Ryan speaks quietly, reaching to grasp her hand. “I’m with you, all the way. You’re my best friend.”

Kara swallows the lump in her throat, eyes burning with unshed tears. “Thanks,” she croaks, the situation finally catching up to her. She thinks of Cat, wondering how she’s supposed to tell her. _Can_ she even tell her? Kara doesn’t know if she’d be able to find her in the bustle of Metropolis, even knowing she works at the _Daily Planet._ How could she put that on her? A one-night stand is nothing, absolutely _nothing_ compared to taking responsibility for a child.

_I don’t even know how long this will last,_ she thinks, hand pressing to her stomach. _I have to get to my pod and run a diagnostic. It’s not like I can go to a doctor._ Her thoughts remind her of Cat – bringing her back around in a circle, back to _her_.

“Who was it? Anyone I know?” Ryan asks her, before Professor Martin calls them all to heel.

Kara shakes her head.

“It was nobody.”

* * *

_ Earth, June of 1992 – six months onwards _

He’s perfect.

Dark brown curls spring from his head, so soft and delicate. His eyes, not yet open, scrunch up – his skin all pink and red. Kara feels her heart swell, her insides melting. _This_ was the child who laid in her belly for nearly a year, who kicked like a titan and fell asleep to the sound of her voice. Kara holds him close to her chest, ignoring the smell of blood from the bathroom.

Her broken arm twinges when he wiggles, tiny cries small to her natural hearing. Kara hopes she gets her powers back soon – it was hell trying to explain why a heavily-pregnant woman should be so far out in the desert, with a crater at her back. The sunburn she got from walking to the roadside still hasn’t faded, three days later.

He cries again. Kara shushes him, kissing his forehead, wanting to be close to him – _closer_. Does every mother feel this way, when their child has left their body?

Standing hurts – but then the sun shines on her and _there it is_, a shiver running through her as she absorbs the sunlight. Her pod had been informative, to say the least. Rewiring the diagnostic scanner was difficult, but the results she was given afterwards were well worth their weight in work.

“You need a name,” she tells her son, who squirms and basks in the sun, like her. Kara hypothesised he would have absorbed solar radiation anyway – she might as well work with his full strength, rather than a continual growth. “On Krypton, you’d take my family name. You belong to the House of El. I’m Kara Zor-El, daughter of Zor-El and Alura In-Ze.”

Her eyes wet with happy tears.

“And I’m your mother. You’re my son, little one,” she croons, caressing the tiny nub that is his chin. Kara has met babies before in foster-homes, though she never saw them for long. She remembers how different they were – how fat, how thin, how round and pointy – and they don’t compare to her treasure, _her_ son.

What would Cat call him? Kara can’t imagine the small woman holding a baby, let alone their son. But then, she remembers what she said about her father. _He died when she was sixteen_, Kara recalls. _Carter Grant._

“I could call you after my father,” she muses, “or Cat’s. You could be Zor-El Junior. Zor-El Lee.” She sighs, wanting her parents more than ever. Alura would have congratulated her, gazing wide-eyed at Kara’s newest creation. Zor-El would have cried.

“Aunt Astra would have promised to take care of you, just like she did me,” Kara tells him, swaying and flying, floating up into the air. Her son snuffles and whimpers; Kara doesn’t want to put him down. “I think Cat is like her. She’d protect you. Love you fiercely.”

Kara doesn’t know who she’s talking about in the end – Astra or Cat. What she does know is that Cat’s father is left behind by his wife, out of grief and that Cat had showed her that vulnerability in trust.

“Carter-El,” Kara murmurs, thumb tracing the symbol of _Rao_ on his forehead. On Krypton, there would be golden paint and a crowd of family friends and associates, welcoming him to Kryptonian society. The symbol of Rao would stay there, shimmering orange in the sun and glowing faintly in the starlight, until it finally faded away.

She remembers when her cousin was born. He was a secret – naturally grown in Aunt Lara’s womb, just like Carter. Kal-El had fussed during the ceremony, his skin as dark as Lara’s, but his eyes as blue as her Uncle Jor-El’s. He was beautiful and Kara loved him from the moment she saw him, claiming him as _family_, belonging to the House of El.

“_May Rao’s light shine on you forever,_” Kara whispers in Kryptonian, knowing the rites as all ladies of Houses do. “_May the blood of your ancestors protect and guide you. May your life be long and joyous. May you meet those who love you in starlight, when you are gone. We-_”

And here she stutters, breath catching in her throat. For there is no _we_, here. There never will be.

Kara closes her eyes and finishes the rite.

“_I welcome you, Carter-El, to the House of El. May your presence be a gift and a blessing._”

In her arms, Carter sleeps.


	4. TAKE

_ Earth, August of 1995 – three years later _

The bustle of the _Daily Planet_ always got on her nerves. Perry White’s office, despite being a den of masculinity, was a safe haven from the cramped offices full of busy journalists and interns, desks and printers. Cat, as one of Perry’s pride and joys – right next to Lois in level of trust – gets a seat at the table, when he has meetings.

It’s more than Ethel gets.

Trying to ignore how Perry’s secretary makes her notes without something to lean on, Cat drums her fingers on the table, watching Lois raise an eyebrow at their boss when he squints at a picture.

“It’s not very clear,” he says slowly. “This is the best you’ve got?”

“Blame the crime scene photographers,” says Lois, bold as ever. The curl of her lip charms a chuckle out of Perry, who nods, but still puts it aside.

“If we use a recreation instead, it might be better – get our readers thinking that the original was too ghastly. Grant, you’ve got camera skills, right?”

_Oh, ‘Grant’ am I?_ Cat leans forwards, plucking the photo from the desk. It’s one of the ones they copied from the archives in National City town hall, a picture of a murder in the same stylings as the serial killer on the loose in Metropolis. Perry is right, Cat grudgingly agrees; the photograph is bad, sketchy at best.

“A recreation, you said?”

“White lines on the ground, movie hallmarks. You know what I’m getting at?” Perry says, already turning back to Lois to talk about the article itself. It stings, badly. What has Lois got that Cat doesn’t? They’ve worked together on this article – it was a _collaboration_.

“I assume the _Planet_ will be paying for my flight,” Cat interrupts their little _tête-à-tête_, her back straight and her expression overly cool. Lois notices. Perry just shrugs, glancing at Ethel.

“See to it.”

“Yes, Mr White.”

Ethel has the decency to get her first class and arrange everything else, from the use of professional cameras to blocking off the street. If Cat had her own company, she’d poach Ethel in a quick second. She can read a room and she’s being squashed down, under Perry’s boot.

_She’d make good HR,_ Cat muses, after it’s all done. A building with glass windows and a gaudy _FOR LET_ sign above the doorway attracts her attention, when she decides to wander – her flight isn’t for hours yet, in any case. She ruminates over her imaginary company.

_There aren’t that many papers in National City, other than that horrific ‘Nation Goss’_. Cat shudders at the name. _I could come up with a better name in my sleep._

A coffee shop across the plaza catches her attention when a child starts running from it through the scant crowd, arms wide and free, curls bouncing around their face in a mop. Cat scans the coffee shop and then the plaza, trying to track the child’s adult. To her worry, there isn’t one. No-one is doing anything about the child – the boy, she guesses – careening about the pale grey steps.

“Good climber,” Cat can’t help but mutter, seeing him make his way easily up the stairs. He almost flies up. It’s only when she actually sees him shoot up off the ground at the last step, floating in mid-air in what looks like a _very_ impressive jump, that she considers things might not be all they seem. When said child then doesn’t go _immediately_ tumbling to the ground in a feat of childish imbalance, Cat makes her way towards him.

Arching her walk, she meets him at an angle, reaching down to grasp his arm. A chill runs through her when he nearly pulls her along with him, only stopping upon realising he’s been grabbed. He blinks up at her and for a moment, Cat is lost for words, recognising the blue of his eyes.

_Blue eyes._

_Floating._

It’s not a hard puzzle to put together, when you have all the facts like she does.

“Hello. Where’s your mother?” Cat asks softly, crouching down beside him. The boy blinks at her, then grins.

“Hi!”

“Hi to you, too,” Cat glances around, looking for the infamous alien woman she slept with, nigh on five years before. “What’s your name? I’m Cat.”

“Like kitty?” The boy asks her, a lisp making itself known. He giggles again, then flaps his arms about – feet floating off the ground. Cat makes a split-second decision and picks him up, his weight little to none as she sets him on her hip.

He’s flying. _Definitely._

“Where’s your mother? What’s your name?”

“Coffee,” he pronounces, pointing towards the coffee shop. “Kal!”

“Kal?” Cat repeats, “Kal- Kal-_El?_”

“Kal-El! Kal-El, Kal-El, Kal-El…”

He goes on and on, repeating the name about ten more times as Cat crosses the plaza, heading to the coffee shop. When she approaches the door, surrounded by tables and chairs, a familiar blonde appears in the doorway, eyes widening at the sight of Cat and the child in her arms.

“_Ieiu_, kitty!” The boy on her waist calls out, Kara walking forwards at a fast pace – _I’ve seen you run faster,_ Cat thinks – to extricate the child from her grasp. Cat feels more than anything how he floats across to her, like he’s swimming rather than _floating through the air_. “Kitty!” He says again.

“Cat,” Kara corrects, looking her way shyly. Her son – and it is _so clear_ he is her son, unless he is her mystery cousin, Kal-El – babbles to her in an incomprehensible language, though clearly Kara understands him. She even replies, pressing a kiss to his forehead before setting him down on the ground, directing him towards the café. Cat peers past her, eyebrow rising as she sees him climb up onto a chair where a baby carrier sits.

“…it’s been a while.” Cat greets the other woman, who bites her lip and clasps her hands. She’s in jeans and a t-shirt, this time, hair pulled back in a pony-tail. “I see you have a spawn, now.”

“Yeah,” Kara replies quietly, shuffling out of the way of a customer exiting the café. Cat moves too and it’s strange, meeting her one-night stand again. Knowing her _secret_ connects them both. “Thanks for grabbing him. I was out back, doing some heavy lifting. Patricia didn’t even realise he was gone.”

“A poor babysitter,” Cat replies, glancing at him again. “He mentioned Kal-El.”

Immediately, that same sunny grin from five years ago appears. “Yes! Kal-El turned up, finally – I’m taking a break from my career while I get us all figured out. It’s why I’m here, rather than Peru,” she jokes, silly grin so…_charming._ Cat hates it that she loves it.

“Well,” Cat starts, “that’s good. I will admit, however, I would have expected him to be older.”

Kara glances around, coughing, “His pod was trapped in the Phantom Zone. Time doesn’t exactly pass there. It was some really complicated physics for his pod to get him out of there. Years worth of calculations – and I’m still not really sure how it did it. But he’s here now.”

“He’s here now,” Cat repeats. She offers a small smile. “Congratulations. It must be wonderful to have him back.”

“It is,” Kara confirms, though her relief is smattered with guilt. “Is it bad that I’m happy, though? I’m in a better place now to take care of him, compared to when I was thirteen.”

“Definitely not,” Cat answers instantly. “He would have been taken away from you, that young. If your life is stable, then you have a better chance at raising him right.”

“Do you have children?” Kara asks her, oddly curious. Cat shakes her head. “Would you want them?”

“No – I have my career to think about.” Cat cracks her neck, shrugging. “Children are lovely, but I wouldn’t deliberately choose them. Maybe when I’m older.”

“Adoption?” Kara offers, though there’s something about her expression that Cat doesn’t like. She glances back towards her son and cousin – her sons, more like – and Cat wonders why she’s so sad.

“Is the father in the picture?” She asks, wanting to know. Kara’s life is different from her own. Every answer is a glimpse of a life she can never have.

Kara looks back at her, blinking hurriedly and clearing her throat, nerves rattled. “Oh, no, he’s gone. Doesn’t even know,” she says quickly, voice pitched strangely. She flaps her previously still hands about, giggling.

“Have I stepped on something sore?” Cat questions frankly, not liking this reaction. Kara swallows, pursing her lips tightly as she shrugs, looking away. “Alright,” she mutters, before inclining her head to the café. “What is his name? He never told me.”

“Oh. He- his name…” Kara flushes, looking at Cat shyly. “Don’t hate me.”

“Why would I hate you?” Cat asks, baffled. She watches as Kara curls inwards, arms wrapping around herself – steeling herself for a bad reaction, Cat realises.

“Carter.”

For a moment, Cat doesn’t understand what’s wrong. Her father’s name is Carter.

“_Oh_.”

Her father’s name is Carter.

Staring at Kara, Cat doesn’t know what to say. Kara cringes, rushing to explain, “It’s just, you told me about him – about how he died and you remembered him by yourself and I thought that- I thought that wasn’t fair, that he deserved more than that.”

“You didn’t know him,” Cat utters, still half-gasping. _Carter._

“No, but I knew you, for a little bit,” Kara says and her nerves are gone, a steadfastness returning to her voice. She looks at Cat with a strength she remembers more clearly than the freckles on her face. “It’s his name, now. It has been for a while. I hope you aren’t mad, but…it suits him. It’s his name.”

“It- it’s a good name,” she eventually states, looking at Kara in a new light. Cat could see herself falling for her – becoming friends with her and never telling her that she means the world- no, the _universe_ to her. Kara will find someone, who might act as father to Carter and Kal-El…Cat is just one woman. Worse, one woman she slept with.

_But I want her._

Cat wants to be selfish. Her imaginary company could be a _real_ company, if only she left the _Daily Planet_ behind. Perry has Lois. Cat could steal Ethel to help her out with the paperwork. Moving here to National City, where buildings are cheaper and the world, brighter…where Kara lives. She could do it.

“Can we be friends?” Cat blurts out, unable to control herself. She holds her face firm, despite her own horror. _Friends, oh no, why did I ask her that?_

Kara though – she looks delighted. Confused, but still, delighted.

“Sure,” she says, like it’s that easy. She looks back at her children again, glancing to Cat and turning towards the door. “Want to meet the boys properly? They’re a big part of my life…”

Pulling herself together, Cat nods. “Of course. You’ll need help if you want to cover both their inhuman antics up.”

Sheepish, Kara looks to the plaza, where Cat had caught Carter before he could fly up into the air in front of half a hundred people. “Yeah,” she says, biting her lip. Her hand reaches out, offered to Cat.

“I’m still a germaphobe, so please don’t be offended when I decline,” Cat murmurs – but she steps forwards, standing next to the tall alien as she takes back her hand, leading Cat into the coffee-shop.

“Carter!” Kara chirps, “Cat is my friend – want to say a proper hello?”

Carter, turning away from the baby carrier on the table, gives Cat a toothy grin that is oddly familiar, in a way she doesn’t associate with Kara. _Actually, _Cat muses to herself, thinking it funny, _he rather looks like that picture of me on Mother’s mantelpiece._

Disregarding her amusing thought, Cat smiles at him, holding out her hand on instinct. “Cat Grant. Nice to meet you.”

Carter, clearly a happy child, takes her hand in his own, tiny palm hot and sticky like any stereotypical child. Cat briefly closes her eyes, wondering why, _why_ she offered her hand to the grubby child.

“Carter-El of the House of El,” he says, lisp vanishing for that singular sentence before it returns. “Hello, Catty!”

“Just Cat,” she corrects, before taking her hand back and smiling thinly at Kara when she offers a baby-wipe. _It’ll have to do,_ she thinks – and like the last time she saw her, Kara smiles.

It’s enough to make shaking the hand of a sticky child worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is not the end, mwahahaha~~~ expect to see more of this same 'verse for the rest of supercat week!
> 
> i have plans to do 'before & after' as one fic, based around 'how kara came to earth +domesticity' & then life after kal-el turned up in his pod w/cat. then 'do' will be a 5+1.
> 
> for 'don't'...well, let's just say i'm looking forwards to that one. it's going to be So Nice.


End file.
